Equity Bancshares (EQBK) Competitors $36.54 -1.04 (-2.78%) Closing price 08/1/2025 03:59 PM EasternExtended Trading$36.58 +0.04 (+0.11%) As of 08/1/2025 05:16 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Add Compare Share Share Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsHeadlinesInsider TradesOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestSustainabilityTrendsBuy This Stock EQBK vs. BUSE, FFBC, FRME, IBCP, IBOC, OBK, TCBK, TOWN, UBSI, and FNBShould you be buying Equity Bancshares stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Equity Bancshares include First Busey (BUSE), First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC), First Merchants (FRME), Independent Bank (IBCP), International Bancshares (IBOC), Origin Bancorp (OBK), TriCo Bancshares (TCBK), Towne Bank (TOWN), United Bankshares (UBSI), and F.N.B. (FNB). These companies are all part of the "finance" sector. Equity Bancshares vs. Its Competitors First Busey First Financial Bancorp. First Merchants Independent Bank International Bancshares Origin Bancorp TriCo Bancshares Towne Bank United Bankshares F.N.B. Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and risk. Which has better valuation & earnings, EQBK or BUSE? First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Equity Bancshares. Equity Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Busey, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioEquity Bancshares$228.94M2.80$62.62M$4.039.07First Busey$663.36M2.99$113.69M$1.1219.76 Which has more volatility and risk, EQBK or BUSE? Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Does the media prefer EQBK or BUSE? In the previous week, First Busey had 15 more articles in the media than Equity Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for First Busey and 1 mentions for Equity Bancshares. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat Equity Bancshares' score of 0.95 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment Equity Bancshares 1 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 0 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive First Busey 6 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 2 Neutral mention(s) 2 Negative mention(s) 1 Very Negative mention(s) Positive Is EQBK or BUSE a better dividend stock? Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Equity Bancshares pays out 14.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey pays out 89.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equity Bancshares has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth. Do analysts rate EQBK or BUSE? Equity Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $47.80, indicating a potential upside of 30.83%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.17, indicating a potential upside of 22.76%. Given Equity Bancshares' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Equity Bancshares is more favorable than First Busey.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Equity Bancshares 0 Sell rating(s) 3 Hold rating(s) 3 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.50First Busey 0 Sell rating(s) 3 Hold rating(s) 3 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.50 Is EQBK or BUSE more profitable? Equity Bancshares has a net margin of 18.66% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Equity Bancshares' return on equity of 14.64% beat First Busey's return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Equity Bancshares18.66% 14.64% 1.31% First Busey 9.48%9.76%1.11% Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in EQBK or BUSE? 71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 6.6% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. SummaryFirst Busey beats Equity Bancshares on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks. Get Equity Bancshares News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for EQBK and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Email Address New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding EQBK and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart EQBK vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricEquity BancsharesState commercial banks IndustryFinance SectorNASDAQ ExchangeMarket Cap$639.93M$1.38B$12.08B$9.53BDividend Yield1.56%8.96%5.63%4.08%P/E Ratio9.189.2119.7423.80Price / Sales2.803.1925.9188.08Price / Cash10.6310.4721.3357.96Price / Book1.250.982.095.55Net Income$62.62M$819.47M$1.00B$259.03M7 Day Performance-4.79%-2.29%-2.46%-4.56%1 Month Performance-14.42%-3.33%-0.96%4.49%1 Year Performance-1.81%1.42%537.06%18.05% Equity Bancshares Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)EQBKEquity Bancshares4.894 of 5 stars$36.54-2.8%$47.80+30.8%-5.2%$639.93M$228.94M9.18700BUSEFirst Busey4.9697 of 5 stars$23.03-0.8%$27.17+18.0%-15.6%$2.08B$663.36M20.561,548FFBCFirst Financial Bancorp.4.5992 of 5 stars$25.21+1.4%$29.00+15.0%-9.7%$2.38B$1.62B10.082,090Positive NewsFRMEFirst Merchants4.8709 of 5 stars$40.05+0.6%$46.20+15.4%-4.0%$2.32B$1.07B10.382,120IBCPIndependent Bank3.9202 of 5 stars$32.29-0.5%$36.00+11.5%-10.0%$672.60M$323.14M10.52920IBOCInternational Bancshares3.34 of 5 stars$69.72+0.4%N/A+5.9%$4.32B$1.04B10.612,336News CoverageUpcoming EarningsOBKOrigin Bancorp3.6283 of 5 stars$38.07+1.6%$43.20+13.5%+8.7%$1.19B$358.20M15.481,010Analyst RevisionTCBKTriCo Bancshares3.4413 of 5 stars$43.55+1.8%$47.60+9.3%-9.0%$1.41B$531.04M12.811,201TOWNTowne Bank3.7748 of 5 stars$35.70+0.3%$40.67+13.9%+7.2%$2.67B$1.03B15.522,720UBSIUnited Bankshares4.0583 of 5 stars$36.81+1.7%$40.50+10.0%-6.0%$5.14B$1.63B13.012,553Positive NewsFNBF.N.B.4.7063 of 5 stars$15.70+0.4%$18.64+18.7%+1.4%$5.63B$2.57B12.274,280Positive NewsDividend Announcement Related Companies and Tools Related Companies First Busey Alternatives First Financial Bancorp. 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